Honor the women in your family tree by discovering and sharing their stories.

When I was growing up, my favorite books were Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House stories. Like so many other young girls, I devoured those tales of sod homes and log cabins, wagon trips and one-room schoolhouses, blizzards and snow candy — and tried to imagine myself in the Ingalls girls' shoes.

Being an astute youngster, however, I recognized that I wouldn't really want to trade my modern childhood of riding bikes and playing Barbies for a more-rudimentary existence involving farm chores. (“You want me to do what with that cow?”) So rather than dreaming I'd been born in a bygone era, I conjured up romantic visions of my own female ancestors cheerfully enduring pioneer life.